Above the fold

• After facing a tough crowd at Columbia University yesterday (here's Iran's take), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address the United Nations General Assembly today. George Bush will also address the assembly.

• Nuri al-Maliki spoke in New York yesterday, telling crowds that a civil war in Iraq has been averted and that those "who destroyed the towers of the (World) Trade Center are the same as those who blew up the (Golden Mosque) in Samarra."

• A suicide bomber killed 25 at a meeting between Shia and Sunni leaders in Iraq.

• The new fiscal year begins on October 1st, but Congress has yet to send any spending bills to the president.

• 73,000 members of the United Automobile Workers went on strike yesterday against General Motors. A long strike could have serious consequences for the economy.

• As Hillary Clinton's campaign tries to lower expectations for her fundraising, Barack Obama is claiming to have added a staggering 75,000 donors in the third quarter.

• Evan Bayh, a senator from Indiana, endorsed Mrs Clinton yesterday, setting himself up as the favourite to become her running mate should she win the Democratic primary.

After reading the L.A. Times' coverage of Ahmedinejad's appearance at Columbia, I'm ready to recant. Columbia shouldn't have invited the Iranian President to perform in a room where he was the least noxious person present. According to the Times, AHmedinejab replied to Boillinger that his comments were an insult to the knowledge of the audience. I pray he was right.Comment originally posted on September 25, 2007 2:14 PM